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hello, world. my name is ilene (aka illy). this is my blog where i like to write about life, laughter and the pursuit of real happiness. creamer with a pinch of coffee, songs played on repeat, red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and reading into the hours of the night top my list of favorite things. and life. i am a follower of Jesus and i love life.

Friday, September 23, 2011

right now, i'm chilling on the couch, watching the X-Factor with my mom. we've cheering on the crazy-awesome singers and cracking up, rolling our eyes, and covering our ears over the really crazy-out-of-their-mind people who think they can sing. and i seriously love the fact that Simon Cowell is back. i've been a fan of him since the days of American Idol. favorite quote of the night: You are Justin Bieber gone wrong. love him.

and now that it's the weekend, i think i have a couple of cravings that i hope to meet. first, i've been craving a pumpkin pie, so i need to bake one this weekend. and since i finished Divergent, i've been craving a good book - a really, really gone one. And the ones that i've been reading lately haven't exactly hit the target. i'll be going to a local booksale, so *crossing my fingers* to find some good books there! and bike-riding has become a weekend occurring that i'm looking forward to the next bike trip with dad.

and that bike ride will help me meet the craving of eating that pumpkin pie i'm planning to bake. and you bet i'm thinking about the whole pie. mmm. okay, maybe i'll share with dad since he's going bike riding too.

much love.

[happy friday and first day of autumn, friend.]

p.s. just a few more days left to enter the lovely Lily White giveaway!

You are just so darn cute. Not sure if you've read any of these before but here are some of my favorite books:Ted Dekker - Circle TrilogyTed Dekker - BlinkFrancine Rivers - all of her books but if I'd pick one it'd be Redeeming LoveFrancis Chan - Crazy LoveDavid Wilkerson - The Cross and the Switchblade

I hope those help. I want a pumpkin roll now. I just prefer pumpkin roll to pumpkin pie.

i always look forward to pumpkin pie around the holidays. yum. my other pie for the holidays = pecan pie. this is a new love for me and i tried to bake one last year without success. i didn't realize they were kinda hard to bake. have a great weekend & enjoy that pie!

We actually kicked Fall off last night. Hubby had a really hard day at work so to cheer him up I got him in the kitchen with me {he enjoys cooking and baking} and we made mini apple and cherry pies! We had lots of fun making silly pie tops and we made 12 in all!

They are soooo delicious! I have lots of pumpkin making plans myself too! Our last grocery trip was this HUGE haul of pumpkin and baking supplies for all the goodies :D

I know!! I have been craving pumpkin pie like crazy since I baked that pumpkin bread last week!! I saw a recipe on Pumpkin Pie smoothie (I think it was on A Beautiful Mess) That I may have to try out really realllllly soon!! :)

I love the X Factor and Simon! my favorite was the first night and that lady Stacy who sang "Natural Woman" absolutely beautifully.

Cute cover! I love hove how your pictures are always playful and fun and natural and not "I'm trying to be a Urban Outfitter Model." I seriously mean that as a compliment. I can't read some peoples blogs because of their poses/seriousness/face in their fashion posts!

!!!! I am SO excited with the X-Factor. Especially excited because of Simon (as you well know). I didn't see the second episode though, I was so bummmmed. I laughed so hard when those two 'emo' girls did this weird number where one was sort of singing and the other one was running around screaming like a possessed child. Simon was like "so. one of you sang and the other swallowed poison." He's just always spot on. Arh and so so sexy I think I blush a little when I see him. On TV duh. Anyway you look absolutely flawless as always. Believe it or not I've never tried pumpkin pie and I'm always curious what it tastes like! You need to give me the recipe (unless it's some family secret or something) I really want to TRY making one haha.

Yay, happy first day of autumn! You look adorable greeting the new season too--I love the pink jacket! And what is it about reading a really good book that puts so much pressure on the next book to be just as good?! I'm the same way.

I just finished reading Clockwork Angel and am now reading The Maze Runner. Once I finish, I will read Divergent but I am really craving for a book that will have me engorged with the storyline and relationships like in Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games and Mortal Instruments. If you find a book like those ones, let me know...